Sherman's March to the Sea

To try to end the war and severely weaken the Confederates, Sherman ordered a march throughout the south, destroying land, and anything that could aid the Confederates during war.  Starting in Atlanta, Sherman and over 50,00 soldiers marched through Georgia burning buildings, homes, and land.  The soldiers took a major risk joining this march because they were not ensured food or shelter.  When soldiers passed homes or farms, they would take food and any necessities; and the owners had no choice but to hand it over.  The Union's main goal/ reasoning for doing this was to scare the south, to show them total war.  This march ended in Savannah, Georgia where the city surrendered before there was any major fighting.  Sherman left Atlanta in ruins bringing down the civilians pride and moral.

Sherman and his soldiers.
Sherman's March to the Sea. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 4 Feb 2014. <http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/grimsley1/dialogue/postcolonialism/war/war_is_hell.JPG>.

Sherman's Atlanta Campaign

The Atlanta Campaign was setup to help accomplish many goals for the Union army.  First, capturing Atlanta would boost the Union's pride and moral, and would also bring the Confederate army down because Atlanta was a city that Georgia idolized.  Lincoln also needed an ensured election because even northerners were starting to doubt Lincoln because they were so tired of war and just wanted it to end.  Sherman was asked to lead this campaign, and the first thing he told the citizens of Atlanta to do was to evacuate.  He did this because he knew Atlanta would be turned into a supply hub and that it was not a place for families; as well as the fact that he didn’t want the citizens to ruin his military plans.

Atlanta Campaign
Atlanta Campaign. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 3 Feb 2014. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Atlanta_campaign.svg/900px-Atlanta_campaign.svg.png>.

Andersonville

Andersonville was the Confederate prison camp where they help captured Union soldiers.  It was one of the largest and worst prison camps during the Civil war.  The Confederate army was suffering from lack of supplies already, so the prisoners suffered to the extreme.  There was a limited amount of food for the soldiers, so the rations of food and water for the prisoners was very small until a miracle happened.  There was one small creek running through the middle of the camp that was used for just about everything; during a big thunderstorm, lightning struck the creek and it seemed like there was a fountain with endless, clean water.  Many died everyday but the clean water saved many lives.  As prisoners entered the camp they were told they had to build their own shelter with whatever they could find, as well as a couple of guidelines/ rules.  Most important of the rules was to not pass the dead line, if you crossed if with even a finger, a guard would shoot you, therefore giving it the name dead line.  Many guards would torture the starving Union soldiers by placing food right outside the dead line to taunt as if they were animals.  Andersonville was a very cruel place that created controversy throughout even the southern states.  

The Dead Line in the Andersonville prison camp.
Dead Line in Andersonville. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 3 Feb 2014. <http://www.civilwar.org/education/assets/images/prisoners_web.jpg>.

Chattanooga, Chickamauga, and the Union Blockade of GA's coast

The battles of Chattanooga and Chickamauga were very important events/ battles in Georgia; the Union army came down south where hey ended up trapper in Chattanooga.  The Union army was able to open a supply line and kept traveling south to Chickamauga.  The Union army had enough confidence from conquering Chattanooga that they decided to go down to Chickamauga where one of the first major battles in Georgia took place.  The Union army lost the battle and ended up retreating back up north towards Chattanooga.

Battle of Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 2 Feb 2014. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Chickamauga.jpg>.

The Union had a very intelligent battle plan that would cut off the Confederate army; they decided to blockade Georgia's coast.  This meant cutting off supplies coming through Savannah, which was a major port.  The south still managed to import and export a limited amount of supplies with the help of smaller ships.  This gave a major advantage to the Union army and was a crucial step in winning the war for the north.

Union Blockade of Georgia's Coast
Union Blockade of Georgia's Coast. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 2 Feb 2014. <http://pascocemeteries.org/brooksville_bayport_raid_11.jpg>.

Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg

The Emancipation Proclamation was a Proclamation that Abraham Lincoln wrote, that completely changed the war.  In this Proclamation, he stated that all slaves in the rebelling states would be free.  Since those rebelling states were frighting to become an entirely different country, Abraham Lincoln could not just simply tell them what to do.  Before the Proclamation was put in place, the main war issues was to try and keep the Union together, after it was put in place though, one of the bigger war issues was concerning slavery. 

Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 29 Jan 2014. <http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Images/proclamation.jpg>.

Gettysburg was one if not the most important battles in the Civil War, this battle lasted 3 days, and more soldiers were killed than in any other battle.  The rebels traveled into enemy territory hoping to surprise the Union army and call for peace.  They were hoping to do this by either capturing a huge northern city, or to destroy part of the Union army.  The Confederate Army ended up retreating back to Virginia, leaving the Union with a victory title. 

Gettysburg
Gettysburg. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 29 Jan 2014. <http://capitolbadgers.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/gettysburg.jpg>.

Antietam

Antietam is known as the bloodiest one day battle in the Civil War.  Over 22,000 men were killed in battle.  This battle was more of a way to prove the Confederate's power to possible countries overseas in return for support.  General Lee gave orders to invade in the north, and did so, one to prove how strong his army was, and two, because he believed he had enough confidence to win.  Plans completely changed when a Confederate Soldier dropped the battle plans, later picked up by a Union soldier.  When the Confederate army was getting ready for action, the Union army was ready and waiting.

Antietam Battlefield

Antietam Battlefield . N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 26 Jan 2014. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Battle_of_Antietam.png>.

Confederate/ Union strengths and weaknesses, First Battles- Ft. Sumpter/Bull Run

Confederate Strengths: 

The Confederate Army was fighting defensively, meaning all they had to do was defend their "territory"; they also knew the land they were fighting on.  They had amazing generals with great battle plans.  The rebels were very resourceful and had to use crops that they grew in the south.

Confederate Weaknesses:

The Confederate army had a smaller army than the Union which caused them to have to be more careful with each battle.  They were also not as up to date technology wise as the Union was, meaning they did not have a fast way of spreading news, or transporting soldiers to the front line.  Finally, the south was not the industrial part of the country, meaning that once the war started all supplies imported from the south stopped, and they were left with what they already had.

Union Strengths: 

The north was the industrial part of the country which was a huge help to winning the war.  The north stayed up to date with technology using the telegraph and railroads.  The Union army was almost double the size of the Confederate Army, and controlled the Union.

Union Weaknesses:

The Union army was fighting in enemy territory and on the offensive side, meaning they not only had to fight against the rebels, but also had to capture and take over them.  They also had bad generals with terrible battle plans.

Comparisons
Comparisons. N.d. Photograph. n.p. Web. 21 Jan 2014. <http://www.kalmus.dk/civilwar/wzpic/Illll.JPG>.

Ft. Sumpter:

When South Carolina seceded from the Union, the Federal government was still in control of Ft. Sumpter, located in the Charleston, SC bay.  This made them very upset and caused major conflict.  The Federal Government refused to move out, leading to the first shots fired in the Civil War.

Bull Run: 

Bull Run was the first battle of the Civil War.  Both the Union and the Confederate army went into the battle thinking that the war would only last a few battles and that the other side would surrender, they both also had a lot of confidence.  The Union army almost had a victory at the battle of Bull Run, or Manassas until Confederate reinforcements showed up and saved the day for the south.